If you watched Bernard Hopkins’ one-sided victory over Karo Murat in October in Atlantic City, you know that Hopkins can still fight very well. No, he’s not a thrill-a-second fighter any longer. Performances like the one Hopkins had in a 12th-round TKO victory over Felix Trinidad Jr. in September 2001 in New York City will never be repeated.

When Hopkins beat Trinidad, it unified the three oldest championship belts. It’s Hopkins’ goal to do that again in the light heavyweight division. Holder of one belt, he will take on fellow champion Beibut Shumenov of Kazakhstan on Saturday at DC Armory in Washington D.C. (televised on Showtime).

The champion with the third belt — hard-hitting Adonis Stevenson — recently jumped ship from HBO to Showtime, paving the way for a fight between Hopkins and Stevenson should Hopkins beat Shumenov and should Stevenson successfully defend his belt May 24 against Andrzej Fonfara of Poland in Stevenson’s native Canada.

Think about it, Hopkins is 49. He’ll be 50 on Jan. 15. And we’re talking about the dude unifying titles? Hard to believe, but true.

“It’s truly amazing,” Shumenov said, in awe of Hopkins. “It’s unbelievable, it’s incredible. I don’t see where in the past or in the future anybody could do what Bernard does.”

With all Hopkins has accomplished — including being the oldest to win a major title — he relishes this latest challenge.

“First of all, it’s good for both of us,” Hopkins said. “It’s good for both guys, myself and Shumenov, because we’re going on April 19 in D.C. on Showtime and all what you just said is going to be mentioned by the commentators, and leading up to the fight it’s going to be mentioned. So, it’s out there. I mean, it was out there when Stevenson came onboard to unify the title on this end.

“And of course, he’d be fighting his next fight on that network. So, all these things are basically a win/win for the fans of boxing because at the end of the day, no matter which side of the street you’re on ... doesn’t make a difference. People want to see one guy who has a title as the man that beat the man. When you’re a fighter, you want all the major belts that someone else is carrying.”

Not that he needs to cement his legacy any further. It’s rock solid, and then some. But Hopkins didn’t get to become who he is because he was shy about going for something lofty.

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And believe this, he’s enjoying every last second of his almost-unthinkable career.

“I’m glad I’m the one that continues to make history, that continues to give something to scratch your head about, and that’s my main objective,” Hopkins said. “I have my own agenda, and trust me, in that agenda is to one day be part of a long conversation about where do they put Bernard Hopkins because we can’t just put him with all of the other historic legend boxers.

“So, I want to make y’all have a really hard time whether you’re here or not, whoever’s in the future, figuring out where to put this.”

If he doesn’t get by Shumenov, he’ll never get to Stevenson. And Shumenov has his own goal of unifying the 175-pound division in which he and Hopkins and Stevenson toil. It’s Shumenov’s chance to really further a career that may include a world title, but not much notoriety.

And don’t think Shumenov hasn’t noticed that no one is talking about him fighting Stevenson. It’s all about Hopkins.

“Like I said, my main goal is to unify all the titles and I’m not thinking ahead,” said Shumenov, who at 30 is 19 years Hopkins’ junior. “I’m only concentrated and focused on my upcoming fight against Bernard Hopkins, and it kind of motivates me more.

“They’re only talking about Bernard facing Adonis Stevenson. It motivates me more. I don’t care. It makes me train even harder. It makes me be a better fighter.”

Shumenov backed that up with some serious words at Thursday’s final news conference.

“It’s not, for me, about money,” he said. “I’m fighting for the honor and the glory of being acknowledged as a great fighter. I’m not thinking about future fights. I prepared for this fight like it’s my last.”

Hopkins is 54-6-2 with 32 knockouts. Shumenov is 14-1 with nine knockouts.

Malignaggi ready to show his wares again

If you had a list of most exciting world champions over the past decade, you probably would not find Paulie Malignaggi anywhere in the top couple of hundred. But the man has heart to burn, so even though he can’t crack an egg, he sometimes still finds a way to make things interesting.

Malignaggi, a former junior welterweight and welterweight champion from Brooklyn, will challenge Shawn Porter for his welterweight title in on the undercard of Hopkins-Shumenov. He is, as usual, anxious to meet another obstacle head on.

“I have outlasted almost every single fighter that has been hyped more than me,” Malignaggi, 33, said. “You keep saying, ‘How is this guy still around?’ Shawn Porter is a world champion who still has that hungry attitude. That makes it all the more difficult a challenge.

“Fighting a guy like that becomes not only a game of skill, but a game of will. I think I’ve proved through the years I have a lot of both. Shawn is proving he has both as well, and that makes for an intriguing matchup.”

Malignaggi is 33-5 with just seven knockouts.

Porter, of Akron, Ohio, at 23-0-1 with 14 knockouts is a much harder hitter. Based on this assessment, he believes he’s in a tough fight: “We could have taken any challenger, we could have taken a lesser opponent ... but that’s not the Porter way.”

Etc.

Also on the Hopkins-Shumenov undercard, middleweight champion Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin (30-0, 22 KOs) of Brooklyn will defend his title against Lukas Konecny (50-4, 23 KOs) of Czech Republic. ... Josesito Lopez (31-6, 18 KOs) of Riverside next Thursday will take on Aron Martinez (19-2-1, 4 KOs) of East Los Angeles in the 10-round welterweight main event at Agua Caliente Casino in Rancho Mirage (on ESPN2). ... Keith “One Time” Thurman (22-0, 20 KOs) of Clearwater, Fla. next Saturday will take on Julio Diaz (40-9-1, 29 KOs) of Coachella in an interim welterweight title fight at StubHub Center in Carson (on Showtime). ... Also next Saturday, Wladimir Klitschko (61-3, 51 KOs) of Ukraine will defend his three heavyweight championship belts when he squares off with somebody named Alex Leapai (30-4-3, 24 KOs) of Australia in Germany (on ESPN).